Japan’s Topix Closes Above 1,000 First Time Since 2008

March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix
Index closing above 1,000 for the first time since October 2008,
as the U.S. services industry expanded at the fastest pace in a
year amid optimism central banks will continue stimulus.

Honda Motor Co., a carmaker that gets 44 percent of its
sales in North America, added 2 percent. Sharp Corp. soared 14
percent as the unprofitable television maker discussed a
potential investment from Samsung Electronics Co., according to
people familiar with the talks. Softbank Corp. surged 6.9
percent after Macquarie Securities said Japan’s third-largest
mobile carrier may partner with Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

The Topix advanced 1.5 percent to 1,003.22 in Tokyo, the
highest close since Oct. 3, 2008. Four shares rose for each that
fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 2.1 percent to
11,932.27, with volume down 22 percent from the 30-day average.

“Everybody is bullish and I’m a bit scared because I don’t
see a dove, but I have to keep up with the rally,” said
Kuninobu Takeuchi, Tokyo-based executive portfolio manager at
DIAM Co., which manages about 10 trillion yen ($107 billion).
“U.S. services data was excellent and I think the Bank of Japan
will deliver nontraditional easing at its April meeting.”

The Topix surged 39 percent from Nov. 14 through yesterday
on optimism a new government will beat deflation, with Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe nominating easing proponent Haruhiko Kuroda
to lead the central bank. The measure is trading at 1.2 times
book value, compared with 2.1 for the Standard & Poor’s 500
Index and 1.5 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

BOJ Nominees

The BOJ starts a two-day policy meeting today, the last
before Governor Masaaki Shirakawa steps down on March 19. Kuroda
on March 4 vowed to do whatever necessary to end deflation if
named to lead the central bank. The parliament will probably
approve Kuroda as well as deputy governor nominees Kikuo Iwata
and Hiroshi Nakaso, Kyodo News reported. The central bank will
next meet from April 3-4.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index added 0.1 percent today. The
U.S. equity gauge gained 1 percent yesterday. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average climbed to a record, erasing losses from the
financial crisis, as investors bet central banks will keep up
the pace of stimulus. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index increased to 56 last month from 55.2 in
January. Readings above 50 indicate expansion in services, which
account for 90 percent of the U.S. economy.

Sharp Surges

Sharp jumped 14 percent to 341 yen, leading gains on the
Nikkei 225. The electronics maker announced after the close that
it will sell 10.4 billion yen in shares to Samsung.

Softbank jumped 6.9 percent to 3,740 yen. As part of its
buyout of Sprint Nextel Corp., Softbank may partner with Google
and Amazon to create a mobile virtual network operator in the
U.S., Macquarie analysts wrote in a note.